Texas College Access Loan (CAL) Program Loan

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

TypeLoan

Amount -

Description

The College Access Loan (CAL) Program provides an alternative type of educational loans to Texas students that attend colleges and universities in Texas. Students do not have to demonstrate financial need to receive these loans, which may be used to cover all or part of a student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC).

Deduct your federal aid from the cost of attending your school to determine the amount of the CAL loan you could receive.

Students must:

Be a Texas resident;

Be enrolled in:

a course of study leading to an associate's or higher degree at least half-time or

an approved Alternative Educator Certification Program; and

Meet the satisfactory academic progress requirements set by the institution; and

Receive a favorable credit evaluation or provide a cosigner who has good credit standing and meets other requirements.

Students may borrow up to the cost of attendance minus any other financial aid.

The following fee will be deducted from each College Access Loan:

A 3% origination fee if both the borrower and cosigner have a good credit standing, or

A 5% origination fee if either the borrower or cosigner, but not both has a good credit standing.

Cosigners must:

Be at least 21 years of age,

Have a regular source of income,

Not be the borrower or the spouse of the borrower,

Receive a favorable credit evaluation, and

Be a permanent U.S. resident or a U.S. citizen and reside in the U.S. or in a U.S. territory.

Cosigning a loan will impact your credit. In line with financial industry practice, THECB reports cosigner account obligations to the credit reporting agency(ies). The reporting is at the loan level, with each loan reported as a tradeline. If you cosign on several loans you will see a negative impact on your credit score since the credit industry views a cosigner obligation as equivalent to that of the actual borrower. If the borrower becomes delinquent or defaults on the loan, those actions will affect your credit as well. As a cosigner, you are required to pay the loan back if the borrower fails to meet his/her repayment obligation.

2010-2011 INTEREST RATE

A fixed annual rate of 6.00%

Repayment

College Access Loans have a six-month grace period from the date a borrower ceases to be enrolled as at least a half-time student at an eligible institution before repayment begins. Loan balances under $30,000 have a ten-year repayment period with minimum monthly payments of $50. Balances of $30,000 or more are paid over 20 years. The loan will not be sold to another lender; THECB will service the loan until it is paid in full. Postponements of loan repayment and income-sensitive or graduated repayment schedules are available.